Improvement in locks for fire-arms



L M RR m NE IR .81 u -F m F K. .c 10 Tu Patented. Au 28,1877.

N-PEI'ERB, PNDTOZUTIKWGRAFNER WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

IsAAc W. HEYSINGER, on PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT "IN LOCKS FOR FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 194,680, dated August28, 187 7 application filed February 2, 1877. i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, IsAAo W. HE-YsINGER,

of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,have invented an Im: proved Discharging Mechanism for Breech- LoadingFire-Arms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the drawing accompanying and formingpart of this specification.

' The first part of my invention relates to the construction andarrangement of the firing-pin; and its attachments, whereby the gun, ofwhich it forms part, may be secureagainst accident-j al discharge. Atthe same time, and in con junction with this, the parts are so arrangedvThe third part of my invention relates to the arrangement of thetriggers of double-barrel breech-loaders, whereby greater securityagainst accident is secured, and less liability of seizing the wrongtrigger when about to fire, while all the parts are more compact anddurable.

The fourth part of my invention relates to W-..the construction of thetrigger-guard, whereby the triggers are still fur against accident. 7

Referring to the drawing, Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectionthrough the righthand firing-pin of a gun embracing my improvements,showing the lock in elevation beyond. I Fig. 2 is a vertical transversesec T "11 through the firing-pin, at the point where t. e hammer engageswith it. Fig. 3 is a side view of the firing-pin and its coacting partsremoved from the gun; and Fig. 4 is an end view of the same.

The dotted lines in all the figures show the position of the parts whenthe hammer has just iallen -the full lines when the firingpin isretracted, and in Fig. 1 the hammer is seen at full cock.

The lettering is uniform in all the figures, and well-known referencesare omitted.

The essential part of my invention consists th er protected out oromitted, as it is useless here.

in giving the portion of the firing-pin which is struck by the hammer inits descent a lateral, in addition to its forward and back, motion, andso connecting it with the trigger, or other similar part, that by theaction of such part at the time of firing the piece, the firingpin isbrought under the falling hammer, and,

when the blow has been'given, by relaxing the pressure upon the triggeror like part, the end of the firing-pin slips aside from the face of thehammer into a recess provided therefor, and is then retracted by itsspring, irrespective of the position or pressure of the hammer.

By this means veryimportant results are secured. The firing-pin isautomatically retracted, so as to allow the breech to be opened forloading, and the hammer may be snapped at will without the least dangerof explosion, as it constantly passes alongside the firingpin, andstrikes only upon the solid breechpiece. Of course an obvious corollaryof this idea would be to make the hammer adjustable to the firing-pininstead of the converse, but this construction would be clumsy, weak,and ineflicient.

. To fire the gun it is requisite to cook itand draw the trigger. Whenthefiring-pin is erected the hammer descends upon it, and the piece isdischarged. i on as the finger is relaxed thelateral sp wings thefiringpin aside, the coiled s g throwsit to the rear alongside the hammhere it lies, sheltered from every blow or pressure, in a recess out ofsight till the hamm r is raised and the trigger again drawn. be erectedwhen the hamm r i down. I use the ordinary gun-lock, save. that thehalf-set in the tumbler may be advantageously filed The face of thehammer is also made fiat, as is shown, with a projecting portionv torest uponthe standing breech-piece when the firing-pin is withdrawn. Thedrawing shows a back-action lock, but either form may be used.

Fig. 3 shows the firing-pin, and Fig. 1 its method of insertion. It willbe seen that I prefer a firing-pin turning aside upon an axis in theline of the barrels, because 1 find it simpler and stronger inconstruction, and less liable to admit dirt or moisture to the interiorportions of the look, but a firing-pin the rear e firing-pin cannot 2remeso end of which swings vertically upon its front end as a pivotwould fulfill the object sought, and was the method originally adopted.

It will be noticed that the retracting-spring of the firing-pin, insteadof being placed in a chamber in the forward portion of the standingbreech, surrounds the rearmost extremity of said firing-pin, in rear ofthe standing breech altogether, and in the space occupied by the lockmechanism. By this construction the spring is easily accessible at alltimes, and weakening of the standing breech is avoided. The hammer,likewise, is made to strike farther forward, and nearer the point ofimpact upon the cartridge, while the horizontal firingpin'gives a directface blow thereupon, instead of the usual sloping one.

The firing-pin lies in a horizontal line, its front end ready to engagewith the cap of the cartridge, its rear passing backward through thebreech-block into the space occupied by the lock mechanism. It iscapable of end motion. The upper surface of the breechblock is cut downvertically at N, Fig. 2, to expose a portion of the firing-pin, and toadmit the end of the hammer B. A shoulder, K, rises upon the exposedportion of the firingpin, the rear face of which is struck by thedescending hammer, and the firing-pin thus driven forward, as shown inthe dotted lines, Fig. 1.

From the rear end of the'firing-pin rises a crank-arm, i, fitted upon asquare shoulder to prevent turning. The coiled retracting-spring lsurrounds the firing-pin I in front of the arm 11, and abuts against therear of the screw-plug L, which is inserted to sustain the firing-pin Iagainst recoil, and which fills the space through which the firing-pin Iwith its shoulder K was introduced.

An orifice, l, is seen in the arm 11, through which passes an end of thecoiled spring l.

Its other end is seen at P, Fig. 3, where it engages in a slot in therear face of screw-plug L. It is now plain that if the screw L isrevolved to the right by means of a pin inserted in the holes i E'ig jli, provided therefor, the coiled spring will b screwed up likewise, soas not only to retract the firing-pin, but also to throw the crank-arm iover to the right, and with it the Shoulder K, by which means it isdisengaged from the hammer when down, previously to being thrown backout of reach.

By means of these holes 1 the lateral tension.

of the coiled spring int y be regulated at pleasure. Of course, ifdesired, a separate spring may be used for this purpose.

To the end of the arm '5 is attached a stirrup, h, the lower end ofwhich is jointed to the long arm j of the trigger F, the rear end ofwhich engages with the dog of the sear E in the usual manner.

The modus operandi will now be as follows: The gun is at full cock, thefingeris pressed upon the trigger F, the long arm f descend, carryingwith it the stirrup h and end of the crankarm 1', which tilts the studor shoulder K into a vertical position. At this instant the arm f of thetrigger F releases the sear E from its notch in the tumbler, the hammerdescends, and the gun is fired. The finger is now taken from thetrigger, the side strain of the coiled spring lturns the firing-pin onits axis, the shoulder K escapes from beneath the hammer B, the firingpin is suddenly sprung back by the coiled spring 1, during whichmovement the arm *5, stirrup h, and trigger-arm f will have risen anddrawn the trigger F forward to its place again. The hammer remains down.The entrance of the recess N,is filled by the hammer B. when down, and abit of greased rag may be habitually kept under the hammer, effectuallyprotecting the parts from rust or damp.

I have preferred introducing the firing-pin into its recess from the.rear, but it may equally well be inserted from the front, and thesectional screw m, Fig. 1, will show how it may be done.

Now, this gun cannot be exploded by accident unless it be carried atfull cock, which should never be done in any case, and some obstructionthen catch upon the trigger, when a discharge may take place. To guardagainst this, however, I have modified the construction of the triggersand adjacent parts, and, while securing additional safety, I render thegun more useful, and stronger. Instead of placing the triggers one inrear of the other, I place them upon the same vertical line nearly, butone above the other, with a projection, Gr, between the two. So long asthe finger lies in contact with the under surface of the gun-stock, theright barrel will be discharged, but when the finger lies against theguard, it will be the left. Hence no mistake can occur, and both barrelscan be successively fired with the same finger with great rapidity,While accidental slipping from the front to the rear trigger will beavoided. The length of leverage is not changed, as the relativedistances are the same, though in a different direction.

As an additional security I also inclose and cover the left side of theguard, so that, while the finger may be readily inserted from the properside, accidental obstructions will be less liable to cuter than if openthrough. This construction is seen at P, Figs. 1 and 2.

While these latter parts of my invention are more particularly adaptedto sporting-guns, it

is evident that the discharging mechanism will be found especiallyuseful in breech-loading ordnance and military rifles, Where accidentsfrom loaded guns among large masses of men are so apt to occur. By aslight modification of the existing construction it is readilyapplicable to the Springfield and other guns of that class, as thefiring-pin would act against the rear end of the pin which passesthrough the swinging breech-block, and which pin should then behorizontal, and, by being projected against said pin and into itsrecess, would securely lock the swinging block into position until thewithdrawal of the finger from the trigger, when the firing-pin would beretracted, and the gun would be ready for opening and loading withoutthe necessity of half-cocking the piece. It is well also to rememberthat the rebounding lock is not adapted to the Springfield rifle, as thebook of the hammer assists in sustaining the swinging breech-blockagainst rising by recoil.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1 A firing-pin for fire-arms capable of being swung out of reach of thehammer, and adjustable in relation thereto, constructed to operatesubstantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A firingpin, I, provided with an impact shoulder, K, arranged toescape from under the face of the hammer B into a recess providedtherefor, and to be retracted therein, substantially as described.

3. The firing-pin I, provided with a doubleacting side andretrac'torspring, I, and a swingin g shoulder, K, in combination withthe crankarm a, the stirrup h, and a lever arranged to operate the same,the whole substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A firing-pin for fire-arms arranged to be struck by the hammer infront of the retractor, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the firing-pin I, provided with the impactshoulder K, the retractorspring I, and the adjustable screw-plug L, forregulating the tension of the same, the whole constructed to operatesubstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The trigger F, in combination with a firing-pin arranged to be swungout of reach of the hammer B, the whole constructed to operatesubstantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The arrangement, in a double-barrel gun, of the finger-pieces of thetriggers F F, one above the other, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

8. In a fire-arm, the trigger-guard 0, permanently closed upon one side,the other being left open for the reception of the finger, substantiallyas described.

ISAAC W. HEYSINGER.

Witnesses:

P. ODoNNELL, F, L. ROEPKE.

